Toe lasting machine



4 Sheets-Sheet l Inl/enfers Leonard 5f Cvuzlz'z,

TOE .LASTING MACHINE L. s. cuRTlN ETAL J'ZZ Z9! Nov. 2, 1954 Filed Nov. 9, 1950 Nov. 2, 1954 L. s. cuRTlN ETAL 2,692,997

TOE LASTING MACHINE Filed Nov. 9, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 N0V- 2, 1954 I l.. s. cURTlN ET AL 2,692,997`

TOE LASTING MACHINE Filed NOV. 9. 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 I lll e \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'l 2A@ Il H' lli iff/ff! 75 7! A i276 I [i 2M e :u 272 f Z5@ I n y e N0V- 2 1954 L. s. CURTIN ET AL 2,692,997

T01:Y LASTING MACHINE Filed Nov. 9, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 4United States Patent O TOE LASTING MACHINE Leonard S. Curtin, Belmont, and Ferman N. Lee, Danvers, Mass., assignors to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application November 9, 1950, Serial No. 194,794

12 Claims. (Cl. 12-7.8)

This invention relates to lasting machines and is herein illustrated in its application to machines for lasting the toe ends of shoes. It is an object of the invention to provide a toe lasting machine particularly adapted to last the lining at the toe end of a stitchdown shoe while the toe portion of the upper is withdrawn from the last into a position remote from the path of movement of the lasting Wipers. It is a further object of the invention to provide a toe lasting machine in which a lasting operation may be performed with speed and facility and without requiring the exercise of a high degree of skill by the operator. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not limited in its applicability to machines constructed and arranged to last the lining only at the toe end of a shoe but is equally applicable to lasting machines which operate on the upper as well as the lining and to machines for lasting portions other than the toe ends of shoes.

With the above objects in view the invention in one aspect thereof consists in the provision in a lasting machine of a wiper assembly which consists of a bilaterally symmetrical wiper plate for operating on the tip of an end of the toe portion of a shoe and a plurality of wipers herein illustrated as arcuate fingers arranged in contiguous relation to each other for operating on opposite sides of the end portion of the shoe. Both the wiper plate and the fingers are mounted on a carrier on which there is also mounted novel mechanism, herein illustrated as springs, for actuating the fingers. The illustrated means for energizing the springs which actuate the wiper fingers consists of crossed levers pivotally mounted on the carrier and having their fulcra arranged to coincide with the axes of curvature of the fingers on which said levers respectively operate. The springs operate in the first instance to cause the wiper fingers to apply pressure to the work during movement of the fingers heightwise of the vshoe toward the last bottom, and upon the completion of the upwiping operation said springs expand to cause the wiper fingers to wipe the lasting margin inwardly over an insole on the last bottom. For retracting the wiper fingers after the completion of the overwiping operation the stems carried by the fingers have heads at their outer ends which are engaged by the levers during the return movement of the levers to their initial or rest positions. The illustrated wiper plate is fixed to the carrier and is actuated by a movement of translation of the carrier to overwipe a tip end portion of the lasting margin.

'The shoe is positioned heightwise in the machine by bringing the insole on the last bottom into engagement with a member constructed and arranged to register with the bottom face of the insole, and is clamped against said member by the upward pressure of a work engaging member of known construction. The illustrated work engaging member has a stem extending downwardly therefrom and slidably mounted in a fixed standard. The member is moved upwardly against the work by the actuation of a lever which operates against a spring pressed shoe slidably mounted in a recess in the stern. The work engaging member is held against angular movement by the engagement of the lever with parallel walls of the stem.

These and other features of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a right side elevation illustrating the head of a machine embodying the features of the present invention, the right side plate having been removed to disclose the operating mechanism in the head;

2,692,997 Patented Nov. 2, 1954 Fig. 2 is a section on the line II-II of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the head of the machine;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view in right side elevation illustrating the insole holddown;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line V--V of Fig. l, with the parts enlarged;

Fig. 6 is a detail view in rear elevation illustrating the mechanism shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a plan view illustrating the wiper assembly; v

Fig. 8 is a section taken substantially on the line VIII- VIII of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a section on the line IX-IX of Fig. 7;

Fig. 10 is a bottom view of a shoe ready to be operated upon by the illustrated machine;

Fig. 11 is a right side elevation showing the forepart of a last and an upper thereon held by the work supporting instrumentalities of the machine preparatory to the lasting operation, certain parts being shown in section on the plane of the longitudinal median line of the upper;

Fig. 12 is a plan view showing the Work and the lasting instrumentalities in their positions in Fig. l1;

Fig. 13 is a right side elevation similar to Fig. l1 taken at an intermediate stage in the lasting operation;

Fig. 14 is a plan view illustrating the work and the lasting instrumentalities in their positions shown in Fig.

Fig. 15 is a plan view similar to Fig. 14 showing the lasting instrumentalities at the end of the lasting operation; and

Fig. 16 is a bottom View of the forepart of a shoe such as the shoe illustrated in Fig. 10 showing the lining at the toe end of the shoe lasted inwardly and cement attached to the margin of the insole.

Referring to Fig. l, the numeral 20 identities a standard which is supported upon the floor and has a clutch treadie of known construction pivotally mounted in its base portion. Fixed to the top of the standard is a table 22 extending forwardly and rearwardly from the standard. Two vertical plates 24 forming the opposite side walls of the machine head are xed to the opposite side edge faces of the table and extend upwardly therefrom. The upper portions of the plates are connected at their forward extremities by a vertically disposed crosshead 26 and at their rear portions by a horizontal platform 28. Mounted on the platform. is a housing 30 having mounted in its forward portion an electric motor and in its rear portion a gear reduction mechanism which drives a shaft 32 to which is fixed a small pulley 34. The pulley 34 turns a large pulley 36 through a transmission belt 35i, the pulley 36 being mounted to rotate freely on a drive shaft 40. The pulley 36 drives the shaft 40 through a clutch mechanism of known construction comprising four lugs (not shown) mounted in the hub of the pulley and uniformly spaced about its axis for engagement by a pin eccentrically mounted in a collar 42 constructed and arranged to slide on the shaft 40 and to rotate therewith. A spring urges the collar to the right, as seen in Fig. 1, in order to bring the pin into position to engage one of the lugs on the pulley. At the end of the machine cycle the collar is moved to the left as seen in Fig. l in order to disengage the pin from the lug by the engagement of the upper portion of a sliding shaft 44 with a cam face 46 formed in the collar. The sliding shaft is mounted in bearings in ears 4S projecting rearwardly from a bracket 50 secured to the bottom surface of the rear portion of the table 22 and is urged upwardly into position to engage the cam face 46 of the collar 42 by a spring 52 the upper end of which is anchored to a pin 54 mounted within the standard 20 and the lower portion of which is anchored to the upper end of a link 56 extending downwardly to the treadle. Clamped to the upper portion of the link 56 is the lower portion of a link 58 the upper end of which is pivotally connected to the free end of an arm 60 mounted Within the standard and fixed to and projecting forwardly from a rock shaft 62 mounted in a bearing in the right side wall of the standard. The outwardly projecting portion of the rockshaft has fixed thereto an arm 64 projecting rearwardly therefrom and connected by a Ilink 66 to a lever 68 freely mounted on a rockshaft 70 mounted in bearings in the side plates 24. The rear portion of the lever is connected by a link 74 to the cylindrical crosshead 76 of a T-shaped stud 78 fixed in an arm 80 secured to the sliding shaft 44. The upward movement of the sliding shaft by the spring 52 occurs when a cam roll 82 pivotally mounted on the free end of the lever 68 cornes into registration wit-h a recess 84 in a cam 86 arranged to engage said roll. It wiil be understood that the recess 84 comes into registration with the roll 82 when the machine has completed its cycle. 'The cam 86 is fixed to a shaft 88 mounted to rotate in bearings in the side plates 24. The shaft 40 actuates the cam shaft 88 through mechanism herein illustrated as a worm 90 fixed to the shaft 40 and arranged to mesh with a worm gear 92 fixed to the shaft 88. Mounted on the shaft 88 are cams which operate first, to impart Y upward movement to a work support thereby to position the work vertically in predetermined relation to the operating instrumentalities and to clamp it against heelward movement; secondly, to impart upward movement to a wiper mechanism, hereinafter described, in order to upwipe the lining at the toe portion of a shoe in the machine; and thirdly, to advance the wiper assembly horizontally in order to wipe the lasting margin at the toe end of the lining heelwardly over an insole on the last bottom.

For supporting in inverted position the toe portion of a lined upper on a last while the heel portion of the last and upper are manually supported, the illustrated machine is provided with a toe rest comprising an upper or head portion v94 of known construction fixed to a stem 96 projecting upwardly from a slide 98 (Fig. 2) mounted in a dovetailed guideway in a head 102 for adjustive movement lengthwise of a shoe in the machine. For adjusting the slide in the guideway a knurled headed thumb screw has threaded engagement in a tapped hole in the slide and is held against endwise movement relatively to the head 102 by a crosshead 106 fixed to the forward portion of the head and notched to receive a portion 108 of reduced diameter formed in the head of the thumb screw. Extending downwardly from the head 102 is a stem 110 slidably mounted in a vertical bore in a post 112 fixed to the forward portion of the table 22, the table being bored to permit the stem to pass through it. The stem 110 is provided with an axial bore and has a portion midway between its ends cut through diametrically so as to provide parallel vertical inner walls one of which is identified by the numeral 114 in Fig. l. Positioned between said walls is the head 116 of an arm 118 fixed to a rockshaft 120 journaled in bearings in the vertical side plates 24. The head 116 is arcuate in outline as seen in side elevation in Fig. l and has fiat vertical side faces arranged for sliding engagement with the inner walls of the stem 110. The engagement of the vside faces of the head 116 with the inner walls of the stem hold the stem against angular movement. The rear portion of the post 112 is provided with a vertical slot 121 to provide clearance for the operative movement of the arm 118. The head 116 is located between two shoes 122 and 124 positioned between said inner walls, each of said shoes having a stem which is slidably mounted in the axial bore in the stern 110. The lower shoe 124 rests on the base of the cut out portion of the stem 110 while the upper shoe rests on the head 116. The arm 118 is swung in a clockwise direction as seen in Fig. 1 to impart upward movement to the work supporting assembly. The upward thrust of the arm 118 is taken by a spring 126 mounted in the bore in the stem 110 and confined between the base of said bore and the end of the stem 128 projecting upwardly from the shoe 122. The arm 118 is operated by a cam 130 fixed to the shaft 88 and arranged to engage a roll 132 at the free end of an arm 134 fixed to the headed end of a bolt 136 (Fig. 3) freely mounted in a bearing in a vertical plate 138 fixed to the table 22. Also secured to the bolt 136 is an arm 140 having pivotally mounted at its free end a roll 142 (Fig. l) arranged to operate in an open ended slot 144 formed in an arm 146 fixed to the rockshaft 120.

The upward movement of the toe rest brings the toe end portion of an insole such, for example, as the insole 148 shown in Fig. ll, forcibly against the toothed bottom surface of a generally triangularv plate 150 (Fig. 5*) which determines the vertical position of the work relatively to the operating instrumentalities. The plate 150- is mounted in the base portion of a member 206V illustrated in Fig. l and is located relatively thereto by two dowels 151 (Fig. 5) projecting upwardly from the plate into sockets in the base of the member 206. The plate 150 is held against downward movement relatively to the member 206 by a latch member the lower portion of which is identified in Fig. 5 by the numeral 153. The latch member extends downwardly into a bore 155 in the plate 150 and operates in a recess formed in the bottom of the plate. The lower portion of the latch member 153 is moved to the left .as .seen in Fig. l to permit the removal of the plate 150 from the member 206 by forward movement of a knurled knob 157 fixed to a spring pressed pin connected to the latch member. The insole 148 is temporarily attached to the bottom 'of a last 152 `previously assembled with a lined upper 154. The position of the' last lengthwise thereof relatively to the operating instrumentality is determined by `bringing its toe vend into abutting relation to the concave forward surface of a plate 156. In order that the margin of the insole may be vertically located in accurately predetermined relation to the path of movement of the wipers the plate 150 must be adjusted vertically for varying convexities 'in the bottom faces of lasts. This is accomplished by turning a knurled knob 158 xed to a threaded member 160 mounted in a tapped hole in the enlarged central portion 162 of the crosshead 26. It is also desirable to vary the angular relation of the plate 150 to the longitudinal median line of the forepart of the last as may be required to cause the margin of the last bottom to assume the correct angular position for the lasting operation. This is accomplished by turning a knurled headed screw 164. The construction of the mechanism operated by the knob 158 is illustrated and described in United States Letters Patent No. 2,160,846, granted lune 6, 1939 on an application filed in the names of Eastman et al. and the construction of the mechanism operated by the knob 157 and the screw 164 is illustrated and described in United States Letters Patent No. 2,385,414, granted September 25, 1945, on an application filed in the name of Eric A. Holmgren. The abutment plate 156 has a rearward extension 166 (Fig. 5) which is cylindrically shaped and vertically bored for attachment to the lower portion of a vertical shaft 168 mounted for sliding movement in a bore in a bracket 170 (Fig. l) fixed to the rear face of the enlarged central portion 162 of the crosshead 26, the shaft being held against rotation in said bore by a lpin 172 mounted in said shaft and projecting radially therefrom through a vertical slot 174 in the right side wall of the bracket. The engagement of the pin 172 in the base of the slot 174 determines the vertical position of the plate 156 when the machine is at rest. Upward movement of the plate is resisted by a spring 176 surrounding the shaft 168 and confined between the bottom of the bracket 170 and the top of the extension 166 of the plate.

For holding the toe portion of the insole 148 against upward displacement from the last bottom during the upwiping operation the illustrated machine is provided with a holddown mechanism comprising two feet 178 (Figs. 5 and 6) hinged together for closing and opening movements. The two feet have a tongue-and-groove connection at their adjacent end portions, said end portions being bored vertically to receive the cylindrical lower portion of a short arm 180 pivotally mounted on a headed pin 182 carried by a yoke 184 secured to the bottom face of a head 186. The feet 178 are held against downward movement on the arm 180 by a headed screw 188 which, as shown in Fig. 6, is mounted in al tapped hole in the arm 180 and has its head seated in a counterbore in the foot 178 located at the right of Fig. 6. The feet are normally held in an expanded position by a spring 190 (Fig. 5) one end of which is seated in a recess in the left foot and the other end of which is seated in a recess in the right foot. The ex panded position of the feet is determined by the engagement of headed screws 194 projecting from the convex surfaces of the feet with the concave forward face of the plate 156, said plate serving also to orient the holddown feet for engagement with the insole 148. The head 186 projects forwardly from the lower end of a vertical shaft 196 (Fig. l) slidably mounted in a bore in the bracket 170 and held against angular movement by a pin 198 extending radially from the shaft 196 through a vertical slot formed in the bracket. The holddown feet are normally heid in their position shown in Fig. 5 with the screws 194 in contact with plate 156 by a spring 200 (Fig. 4) one end of which is anchored to the head 186 while the other end is anchored to a pin projecting rearwardly from the arm 180. The vertical position of the holddown feet is determined by the engagement of the lower end of a bent arm 202 fixed to the head 186 with a shelf 204 extending rearwardly from the head 206 which mounts the plate 150. The bent arm 202 has a horizontal section mounted in a groove in the head 186 and secured therein by a clamping screw 208 (Fig. 6). Forward of the head 186 the arm 202 is bent to the left as seen in Fig. 6 to bring its downwardly extending portion into alinement with the shaft 196 lengthwise of a shoe in the machine. As seen in Fig. 1, the downwardly extending portion of the arm is inclined forwardly to bring its end portion into position to engage the shelf 204. The arm 202 is held against the shelf by the action of a spring 210 mounted in the forward bore in the bracket 170 and confined between the upper end of the shaft 196 and the base of the bore. It will be understood that the angular adjustment of the plate 150 by the operation of the knurled headed screw 164 adjusts the feet 178 vertically in order to hold the feet in substantial alinement with the plate 150.

For upwiping and overwiping the lining at the toe portion of a shoe the illustrated machine is provided with a wiper assembly comprising a wiper plate 212 (Fig. 7) constructed and arranged to operate on the tip of the toe portion of the shoe and a plurality of arcuate wiper fingers constructed and arranged to operate on opposite sides of the toe portion. The wiper plate 212 is bilaterally symmetrical and has arcuate side edge faces having the same curvature as arcuate wiper lingers 214 arranged in contiguous relation thereto. The intermediate wiper fingers 216 and the outer fingers 218 have the same center of curvature as the fingers 214 and are arranged in two series extending outwardly from the wiper plate 212 with adjacent wiper fingers in contiguous relation to each other. The outer wiper fingers 218 have heelwardly extending wings 220 at their work engaging end portions and the end faces of the wiper plate 212 and the two series of wiper fingers are so constructed that when the fingers are in their retracted position shown in Fig. 7 the wiping end faces of the wiper assembly define generally the periphery of the toe portion of a shoe with the two series of arcuate wiper fingers spaced apart from each other widthwise of the shoe to such an extent that the toe portion of a shoe may be brought into engagement with the plate 156 (Fig. l) without coming in contact with the wipers. Referring to Figs. 7 and 8 the illustrated wipers are mounted in a carrier comprising a base plate 222, a top plate 224 and two intermediate plates 226. The wiper plate 212 is fixed to the plates 222 and 226 by pins 228. The wiper fingers are confined widthwise thereof between the arcuate edge faces of the plate 212 and arcuate inner edge faces of the intermediate plates 226. The plates 222, 224 and 226 are secured together by headed screws 230. For mounting the wiper carrier a pair of lugs 232 (Fig. 1) extends downwardly from the bottom of the plate 222 at the right side of the plate as seen in front elevation in Fig. 3 and a similar pair of lugs extends downwardly from the opposite side of the base plate. Pivotally mounted between the lugs 232 is the upper end of a link 234 the lower end of which is pivotally mounted in the bifurcated end portion of an arm 236 fixed to a rockshaft 238 mounted in bearings in the side plates 24. Similarly the lugs projecting downwardly from the left side of the base plate have pivotally mounted between them a link 240 pivotally mounted at its lower end in the bifurcated end portion of an arm 242 fixed to the rockshaft 238. For supporting the rear portion of the carrier an arm 244 is fixed to the rockshaft 70 and pivotally connected at its upper end in the bifurcated rear end portion of an extension 246 of the base plate 222. The carriers moved upwardly at its forward end to impart upwiping movements to the wipers by the operation of a cam 248 fixed to the shaft 88 and arranged to engage a roll 250 pivotally mounted on the free end portion of an arm 252 fixed to the rockshaft 238. For advancing the Wiper carrier in order to irnpart overwining movement to the Wiper plate 212 a cam 260 is fixed to the shaft 88 and arranged to engage a roll 256 pivotally mounted on the free end portion of an arm 258 fixed to the shaft 70. For. energizing springs hereinafter described which operate to advance the wiping fingers during their upwiping and overwiping operations, a cam 254 is fixed to the shaft 88 and arranged to engage a cam roll 262 pivotally mounted at the free end of a lever 264 freely mounted on the shaft 70. At

its upper end the lever is pivotally connected to a bent link 268 (Fig. 7) which extends forwardly therefrom and is pivotally connected at its forward end to a coupling 270 which is slidably mounted on the base plate 222 between the two intermediate plates 226 and has pivotally mounted in its forward portion two links 272 extending divergently forwardly therefrom (as shown in Fig. 7). At their forward ends the links 272 are pivotally connected to levers 274 and 276 which are pivotally mounted at their forward ends on pins 278 fixed in and projecting upwardly from the top plate 224 at the centers of curvature of the wiping fingers. The lever 274 overlies the lever 276 near their central portions. In order that both levers may he positioned in contiguous relation to the upper surface of the plate 224 the lever 276 is recessed, as indicated at 280 in Fig. 9, at the point of intersection and the lever 274 is similarly reduced at that point by cutting away its bottom portion. As shown in Fig. 9, the lever 276 has an ear 282 which extends downwardly through an opening 284 in the top plate 224. The ear is drilled to receive six stems 286 projecting rearwardly from the wiper fingers and said stems are provided with heads which, as shown in Fig. 7, are engaged by the inner edge face of the lever when the lever is swung in a clockwise direction by the contraction of a spring 314 to retract the wiper ngers. Mounted on each stern is a spring which is confined between the end face of the wiper finger and the outer edge face of the lever, one of said springs being identified in Fig. 7 by the numeral 288. The lever 274 has a downwardly extending ear (not shown) which actuates the wiper fingers at the right side of the plate 212 through connections corresponding to the connections from the lever 276 above described.

In order to cause the feet 178 of the holddown to be elevated from the path of overwiping movement of the wiper 212 as the wiper advances to perform its over-- wiping operation a cam member or plate 290 (Fig. 3) is fixed to the left margin of the upper surface of the top plate 224 and arranged to engage a roll 292 pivotally mounted at the lower end of an arm 294 fixed to a rockshaft 296 journaled in bearings in the side plates 24. Also vfixed to the rockshaft is an arm 298 which extends forwardly from said shaft and has pivotally connected to its free end portion a link 300 the lower end of which is pivotally connected to the pin 198 projecting radially from the shaft 196. In the course of the advancing movement of the wiper assembly the cam face 302 of the plate 290 engages the roll 292 swinging the arms 294 and 298 in a clockwise direction as seen in Fig. l and moving the shaft 196 upwardly to elevate the feet of the holddown above the path of movement of the wipers.

While the illustrated machine is adapted to perform a toe lasting operation upon shoes in which both the lining and the upper are lasted inwardly over an insole on the last bottom the machine is intended primarily to perform a toe lasting operation on the linings only of shoes which are to have the bottom margins of their uppers turned outwardly for attachment to a midsole or an outsole. In the operation of the machine a shoe such, for example as the shoe illustrated in Fig. l0, which preferably has had its heel end lasted inwardly and fastened to the insole, is presented to the illustrated machine by arranging it in inverted position and bringing the bottom face of the insole 148 into engagement with the plate 150 in order to locate the shoe in predetermined heightwise position in the machine. The position of the shoe lengthwise thereof is determined by bringing the toe end of the last into engagement with the concave forward surface of the plate 156, as shown in Fig. ll. The toe portion of the upper 154 is turned downwardly as shown in Fig. 1l so that it will not be engaged by the wipers and the toe portion of the lining 304 is outspread between the upper surfaces of the wipers and the bottom edge face of the plate 156. The orientation of the shoe relatively to the wipers need not be determined with a high degree of accuracy but the shoe should preferably be so located that the plate 1.50 is substantially centrally located relatively to the insole 148 widthwise thereof. While the operator holds the shoe by its heel portion in the position above described he depresses the clutch treadle to initiate the cycle of the machine. During the first part of the machine cycle the toe rest moves upwardly into engagement with the toe portion of the upper, as shown in Fig. 11, and grips the shoe against the toothed bottom surface of the plate 15.0. The wiper assembly then moves upwardly to upwipe the lining and in the course of the upwiping operation the lining is frictionally engaged between the upper surfaces of the wipers and the bottom edge face of the plate 156 and the plate moves upwardly with the wipers from its position in Fig. 11 to its position shown in Fig. 13. In the course of the upward movement of the wipers and the plate 156 the spring 176 applies downward pressure to the plate causing it to exert a retarding action on the lining with a resulting tensioning of the lining during the upwiping operation. When the wiper assembly comes into its elevated position shown in Fig. 13 the springs 288 expand to advance the wiper fingers from their position in Fig. 12 to their position illustrated in Fig. 14 thereby wiping the opposite sides of the toe portion of the lining inwardly over the insole 148. Thereupon the Wiper assembly is advanced heelwardly to cause the wiper plate 212 to wipe the tip of the toe portion of the lining inwardly over the insole. Upon the completion of the heelward movement of the wiper assembly a recess 396 (Fig. l) formed in the cam plate 248 cornes into registration with the roll 250 permitting a spring 30S connected to the arm 252 to urge the arm downwardly in order to cause the wipers to apply downward pressure to the overlasted margin of the lining. The lining and the insole having previously been coated with pressure sensitive cement the downward pressure of the wipers against the lining causes it to be secured to the insole. Further advancement of the cam 248 after the lining has been cement attached to the insole brings a rise 310 formed in the cam 248 into engagement with the roll 250 thereby elevating the wipers into a position in which they are out of contact with the overlasted margin of the lining and holding them in this position until the wiper assembly is withdrawn from its position over the shoe bottom by the contraction of a spring 312 (Fig. l) acting on the arm 258 and by the contraction of a spring 314 (Fig. 7) acting on the coupling 270. During the latter part of the machine cycle the wiper assembly returns to its position shown in Fig. l and the toe rest 94 moves downwardly to release the grip of the shoe against the plate 150 thus permitting the removal of the shoe from the machine.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine for shaping uppers over lasts, a wiper for operating on the tip of the toe comprising a bilaterally symmetrical plate having oppositely disposed arcuate edge faces, a plurality of wipers for operating on opposite sides of the toe comprising arcuate fingers arranged in contiguous relation to each other, and the inner wiper finger being arranged in contiguous relation to the toe wiper plate, a carrier for said plate and said fingers, and means pivotally connected to said carrier and arranged to actuate said fingers.

2. Ina machine for shaping uppers over lasts, toe wiping means comprising a plurality of arcuate fingers, a carrier for said fingers having oppositely disposed guideways in which said fingers are mounted for arcuate movement, stems at the ends of the fingers respectively, springs mounted on the stems respectively, and means for energizing said springs comprising crossed levers pivotally mounted on said carrier.

3. In a machine for shaping uppers over lasts, toe wiping means comprising a plurality of arcuate fingers, a carrier for said fingers having oppositely disposed gideways in which said fingers are mounted for arcuate movement, stems at the ends of the fingers respectively, springs mounted on the stems respectively, and means for energizing said springs comprising crossed levers pivotally mounted on said carrier, said levers having their fulcra located at the respective centers of curvature of the fingers.

4. In a machine for shaping uppers over lasts, toe wipers comprising two sets of arcuate fingers arranged at opposite sides of the toe portion of a shoe in the machine, a carrier having oppositely disposed arcuate guideways in which the two sets of fingers are respectively mounted, means for moving the carrier heightwise of the shoe thereby to cause the fingers to perform an upwiping operation, a plurality of springs constructed l8 and arranged to engage the fingers respectively, and means for energizing said springs in advance of the upwiping operation to cause "the fingers to apply pressure to` the shoe, said'springs expanding upon the completion of the upwiping operation to cause the fingers to perform an overwiping operation.

5. In a machine for shaping uppers over lasts, two sets of arcuate fingersarranged at'opposite sides of the toe portion of a shoe in the machine, a carrier having two oppositely disposed arcuate guideways in which the two sets of fingers are respectively mounted, means for actuating the fingers comprising two levers pivotally mounted on the carrier, stems mounted in the fingers respectively and extending through openings formed in the levers, heads on the outer ends of the stems 'respectively whereby the levers retract the fingers, and resilient means interposed between the levers and the fingers.

6. In a machine for shaping uppers over lasts, upper shaping wipers vcomprising two sets of arcuate fingers arranged at opposite sides of the toe portion of a shoe in the machine, a carrier having oppositely disposed arcuate guideways in which the two sets of fingers are respectively mounted, a wiper plate fixed to the carrier and arranged to operate on the'ti'p of the toe, means for moving the carrier heightwise of the shoe thereby to cause the wipers to perform an upwiping operation, means for advancing the fingers to perform an overwiping operation, and means for advancing the carrier to cause the wiper platel to perform an overwiping operation at the tip of the toe.

7. In a machine for shaping uppers over lasts, a positioning member constructed and arranged to engage an insole on a last bottom, and means for moving the last and an upper thereon heightwise of the upper into engagementwith said positioning member including a standard, a stem slidably mounted in said standard, said stem having parallel walls formed therein, a shoe slidably mounted in a recess formed in said stem, a spring mounted in said recess and arranged to lact on said shoe, and a lever constructed and arranged to engage said shoe and arranged to engage parallel walls of said stem thereby to holdthe stern against angular movement relatively to the standard;

8. In a machine for shaping uppers over lasts, a positioning member constructed and arranged to engage an insole on a last bottom, and means for moving the last and an upper thereon'heightwise into engagement'with said positioning member comprising an upper engaging member, a head in which said upper'engaging member is slidably mounted for movement lengthwise of a shoe in the machine, a stem extending from said head, said stern having parallel walls formed therein, a standard in which said stem is slidably mounted, a shoe slidably mounted in a recess formed in said stem, a spring mounted in said recess and arranged to act` on said shoe, and a lever constructed and arranged to engage said shoe and arranged to engage parallel walls ofv said stem thereby to hold the upper engaging member against angular movement relatively to the standard.

9. In a machine' for shaping uppers, the combination with end wipers, a retarder constructed and arranged to cooperate with the'end'wipers to apply tension to'the work, and an insole holddown, of Vva carrier for the' retarder constructed and arranged for movement heightwise only of a shoe in the machine, a carrier on which the holddown is mounted for movement toward and from the retarder, said holddown carrier being mounted for movement heightwise'only of the shoe, and means normally maintaining the holddown in a position lengthwise'of the shoe determined by its engagement with the retarder.

10. In a machine for shaping uppers, the combination with end wipers, a retarder constructed and arranged to cooperate with the wipers to apply tension to the work, and an insole holddown, of a carrier on which'the retarder is rigidly mounted, said carrier being constructed and arranged for movement heightwise only of a` shoe in the machine, a carrier on which the holddown is pivotally mounted for swinging movement having a component lengthwise of the shoe, said holddown carrier being constructed and arranged for movement heightwise only of the shoe, and yielding means for swinging the holddown onits carrier into a position determined by its engagement with the retarder.

ll. In a shoe machine the combination with a member constructed and arranged to position a shoe heightwise relatively to the koperating instrumentalities by engagement with an insole on the last bottom, a holder for said member and a carrier in which the holder is mounted for angular movement on an axis extending widthwise of the shoe, of an insole holddown constructed and arranged to engage a marginal portion of the insole, a carrier for said holddown, means mounting said holddown carrier for movement heightwise only of the shoe, and means on said holddown carrier constructed and arranged to engage said holder thereby to position the insole holdown in determinate relation to said member heightwise of the shoe.

12. In a shoe machine the combination with a member constructed and arranged to position a shoe heightwise relatively to the operating instrumentalities by engagement with an insole on the last bottom, a holder for said member and a carrier in which the holder is mounted for angular movement on an axis extending widthwise of the shoe, of an insole holddown constructed and arranged to engage a marginal portion of the insole, a carrier for said holddown, means mounting said carrier for move- 1 0 ment heightwise of the shoe in the machine, a finger fixed to said insole holddown, and an extension of said holder constructed and arranged to be engaged by said linger in order to locate the insole holddown in determinate relation to said member heightwise of the shoe.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 10,454 Beal Feb. 26, 1884 882,018 Pym Mar. 17, 1908 938,512 Pym Nov. 2, 1909 938,513 Pym Nov. 2, 1909 2,160,846 Eastman et al June 6, 1939 2,444,141 Miller June 29, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 403,297 Great Britain Dec. 21, 1933 

